Author's E-mail: aaron.calhoun451@gmail.com
PREGAME
9:00 – Texas should not be thinking revenge entering this game because they already got it…against Texas Tech.
FIRST QUARTER
9:14 – So much for establishing a run game; Oklahoma only ran once on that drive.
3-0 Oklahoma
9:18 – Brent Musberger should find a new wardrobe provider—a magenta shirt with a yellow tie? Yuck.
9:21 – Terrible blocking by the Texas O-Line; the tight end let defensive end Auston English come untouched and cause the fumble.
9:22 – Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford just got sacked in the same fashion as when he originally injured his shoulder against BYU; this could be devastating because the Sooners had all the momentum up until this point.
9:28 – Bradford’s helmet is off and backup Landry Jones is in.
9:32 – Texas linebacker Keenan Robinson just got called for pass interference on third and long; the pass was clearly overthrown, but you can’t be grabbing shoulder pads fifteen yards downfield.
9:34 – Texas’ red zone defense has been stellar so far in keeping the Sooners out of the end zone; now, their offensive counterparts have to put a drive together and turn it into a touchdown.
6-0 Oklahoma
9:44 – Texas quarterback Colt McCoy took nine minutes to complete his first pass; hopefully, he can settle down.
9:46 – Oklahoma just got a first down, but the Texas defense has made some great plays in the open field on these swing passes.
9:47 – Oklahoma wide receiver DeMarco Murray is a little shaken up. He already has over 100 yards receiving; the Sooners REALLY can’t afford to lose him.
9:50 – An interception is wiped out by a boneheaded early hit from cornerback Chykie Brown; the Sooners aren’t going to miss Bradford at all if this keeps up.
9:52 – A missed field goal. Oklahoma can run as many plays as they want, but it won’t mean anything if they let the Longhorns stick around long enough.
9:58 – END FIRST QUARTER. OKLAHOMA LEADS 6-0.
SECOND QUARTER
10:02 – Oklahoma fumbles away a promising drive and gives Texas new life. The Longhorn offense is too good to stay dormant forever; a score on this drive would finally swing the momentum.
10:06 – That’s two helmet-to-helmet hits committed by the Sooner defense on the drive so far; McCoy won’t need to complete passes at this rate.
10:10 – McCoy is sacked for a 17 yard loss and the drive is stopped cold. The Sooner defense have kept wide receiver Jordan Shipley quiet so far; he will have to come alive eventually if the Longhorn offense is to gain any traction.
10:16 – It’s understandable that Oklahoma doesn’t want to kick to Shipley, but a 21 yard punt out of bounds near midfield isn’t exactly a viable alternative.
10:21 – Two incompletions, a false start, and a 1 yard quarterback run; the Texas offense looks absolutely pathetic so far.
10:26 – Left tackle Trent Williams, Oklahoma’s best, and most experienced, offensive lineman is limping off the field now; this trend can’t continue for the Sooners.
10:29 – Bad play for Oklahoma: Instead of shanking one out of bounds, the Sooner punter kicks it over Shipley’s head, which forces him to field it at the 5 yard line, and he gets tackled at the 10. How is this a bad play? Oklahoma is hit with a facemask penalty that was on a blocker—not Shipley.
10:33 – What a moronic act by Texas wide receiver James Kirkendoll; he head butted an Oklahoma player after the play was over and he did it right in front of Mack Brown.
10:35 – Wow. Oklahoma return man Dominique Franks fumbles the punt, Texas wide receiver Malcolm Williams picks it up and looks to have ran it back for a touchdown, but the play is under review; either Franks’ foot was out of bounds when he fumbled—which would be a muff, or Williams pulled a Leon Lett and fumbled the ball just before crossing the goal line.
10:38 – Texas retains possession at the Oklahoma 18 yard line; a muffed punt cannot be advanced, but this is a golden opportunity for the Longhorns to get back in the game.
10:43 – Texas is called for delay of game—AFTER A TIMEOUT. Unreal.
10:44 – Shipley finally breaks free on a post route, but McCoy overthrows him, and the Longhorns have to settle for a field goal.
6-3 Oklahoma
10:46 – Oklahoma fumbles the ensuing kickoff and Texas recovers. Does either team want to win this game?
10:48 – Linebacker Keenan Clayton dropped a sure interception—that’s two the Sooners have missed that they could have returned for touchdowns.
10:50 – McCoy rolls out and hits his tight end on a throwback for a first down on 3rd and 10; that may have been the first non-vanilla play the Longhorns have ran on offense.
10:51 – McCoy breaks off a huge run, then looks to have fumbled the ball inside the 5 and Oklahoma recovers it in the end zone for a touchback. The play will get a long look from the replay booth.
10:53 – The call is confirmed and Texas blows yet another golden opportunity. Is anyone still wondering why Alabama jumped over them in the polls?
10:54 – With just over a minute left in the half, Oklahoma runs an end around (?), wide receiver Cameron Kenney fumbles the ball, and is extremely lucky to recover the ball all the way back at the 1 yard line—two Texas players had a clear shot at falling on the ball.
11:00 – Shipley drops the punt at midfield and loses ten yards in the process, then the Longhorns can’t get out of bounds on a sideline pass and have to spike it with two seconds remaining; finally, McCoy is sacked to end the half. There are few ways left to describe Texas’ offensive ineptness at this point.
11:02 – HALFTIME. OKLAHOMA LEADS 6-3.
11:05 – Bob Stoops doesn’t believe Sam Bradford will return, but with the way things are going, Oklahoma isn’t even going to miss him.
11:10 – Eighty combined points looks unlikely in this year’s Red River Rivalry; however, this hasn’t been an entertaining defensive battle either because both teams are giving the ball away as readily as high schools give away condoms.
As for offense, neither side has been stellar; Oklahoma looked a bit better in the first half because, despite their failure to finish drives, they actually moved the football. Texas, on the other hand, did nothing with the ball and while they may be notorious for starting slow this season, those other starts have come against less talented opponents.
THIRD QUARTER
11:28 – Texas finally started upping the tempo and attacking the Oklahoma defense and tied the game as a result.
Tied 6-6.
11:44 – The Wildcat (or, in this case, the ‘Wildhorn’), has become the new equivalent of friends jumping off a bridge—they’re all doing it, so we’d better do it too. Needless to say, the Oklahoma defense wasn’t fooled in the slightest on that play.
11:48 – The goal line has finally been crossed by freshman wide receiver Marquise Goodwin—his first career college TD. The Longhorns have shown more energy on offense in their first two second half possessions than they did in the entire first half.
13-6 Texas
11:57 – Wide receiver Ryan Broyles provides an answer for Oklahoma as he catches a short pass in the flat, breaks free down the sideline, and dashes to the end zone. HERE WE GO! (Note: Honestly, I typed that before Kirk Herbstreit said it.)
Tied 13-13
12:05 – After Texas is stuffed on 3rd and 1, the Oklahoma offense is called for holding, a chop block, and Jones gets sacked on third and long. I didn’t mean go backwards when I said “HERE WE GO!”
12:09 – END THIRD QUARTER. TIED 13-13.
FOURTH QUARTER
12:18 – Hunter Lawrence hits his third field goal of the day to get the lead back for the Longhorns.
16-13 Texas
12:25 – On 3rd and 20, Oklahoma gains 19 on a screen pass; huge decision for Stoops and Co. now.
12:25 – The Sooners go for it and come up short; if the Longhorns hold on to win, that’s the play of the game.
12:33 – Jones retreats to his own end zone and tries to throw it away, only for defensive back Aaron Williams to go airborne and pick it off; Texas can put it away here.
12:36 – For some reason, it seems fitting that McCoy returns the favor and is forced to save a pick-six by defensive back Brian Jackson.
12:38 – Another 4th and 1 in their own territory, and the Sooners are going for it again unless minds are changed during the timeout.
12:41 – Jones keeps it and gets the first down; it looks like a Hollywood finish is in the works…
12:42 – In the first half, it was fumbles; in the second half, it’s been interceptions. Jones, who has played admirably, shows his youth in not seeing safety Earl Thomas, who picked off that offering.
12:49 – McCoy, who has been put on the turf by the Oklahoma defense all day, keeps it on 3rd and 5 and gets the first down. That should clinch the game for Texas.
12:54 – GAME OVER. TEXAS WINS 16-13.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s hard to believe that these were the same two teams in the second half that showed up at game’s beginning. Oklahoma had the lead at halftime, but was looking a whole lot more than three points better than Texas at that point. The Longhorns, resilient as ever, though, got their halftime breather, came out with much more energy in the second half, and found a way to hold on for the win.
The Sooners actually outplayed Texas for much of the game, but the five turnovers and the failed conversion on 4th and 1 in the fourth quarter will loom large for some time. Additionally, Oklahoma was held to negative rushing yardage and that lack of balance prevented them from running away with the game.
Interestingly, this marks the second week in a row where two Big XII teams faced off and combined for over 200 penalty yards (Nebraska and Missouri were last week’s culprits). This conference has long been responsible for emotional football that is played at a high level, but the teams have to learn to use that emotion more positively.
Finally, Sam Bradford’s injury didn’t seem to make a noticeable difference today—Landry Jones can throw the ball fine in his own right—but when you consider how quickly Tim Tebow returned from his concussion, there is worrisome evidence that coaches are relying too heavily on their superstars and pushing them too hard for the simple sake of winning.
Football is just a game; life, and the deserved good health that comes from it, is not.
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